Apparatuses and methods for reading memory cells

ABSTRACT

Apparatuses and methods for reading memory cells are described. An example method includes sharing a first voltage to increase a voltage of a first sense line coupled to a first capacitor plate of a ferroelectric capacitor of a memory cell, sharing a second voltage to decrease a voltage of a second sense line coupled to a second capacitor plate of the ferroelectric capacitor of the memory cell, sharing a third voltage to increase the voltage of the second sense line, and sharing a fourth voltage to decrease the voltage of the first sense line. A voltage difference between the first sense line and the second sense line that results from the voltage sharing is amplified, wherein the voltage difference is based at least in part on a polarity of the ferroelectric capacitor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/673,224, filed Aug. 9, 2017 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,083,973 onSep. 25, 2018. This application, and issued patent, are incorporated byreference herein in their entirety and for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Memory devices are widely used to store information in variouselectronic devices such as computers, wireless communication devices,cameras, digital displays, and the like. Information is stored byprogramming different states of a memory device. For example, binarydevices have two states, often denoted by a logic “1” or a logic “0.” Inother systems, more than two states may be stored. To access the storedinformation, the electronic device may read, or sense, the stored statein the memory device. To store information, the electronic device maywrite, or program, the state in the memory device.

Various types of memory devices exist, including random access memory(RAM), read only memory (ROM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamicRAM (SDRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), resistiveRAM (RRAM), flash memory, and others. Memory devices may be volatile ornon-volatile. Non-volatile memory, e.g., flash memory, can store datafor extended periods of time even in the absence of an external powersource. Volatile memory devices, e.g., DRAM, may lose their stored stateover time unless they are periodically refreshed by an external powersource. A binary memory device may, for example, include a charged ordischarged capacitor. A charged capacitor may, however, becomedischarged over time through leakage currents, resulting in the loss ofthe stored information. Certain features of volatile memory may offerperformance advantages, such as faster read or write speeds, whilefeatures of non-volatile memory, such as the ability to store datawithout periodic refreshing, may be advantageous.

FeRAM may use similar device architectures as volatile memory but mayhave non-volatile properties due to the use of memory cells that includea ferroelectric capacitor as a storage device. FeRAM devices may thushave improved performance compared to other non-volatile and volatilememory devices. However, typical approaches to accessing (e.g., reading,writing, etc.) FeRAM memory cells often utilize complicated circuitryand complicated sequences of internal control signals, which results indisadvantages in terms of circuit design and compactness, and powerconsumption.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example memory that supportsferroelectric memory according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of an example circuit that includes acolumn of memory cells according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of a sense componentaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are diagrams of example non-linear electricalproperties for a ferroelectric memory cell in accordance with variousembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a wave diagram of various signals during operation off sensecircuit for reading a memory cell storing a first logic state accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a wave diagram of various signals during operation of a sensecircuit for reading a memory cell storing a second logic state accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of changes in polarization and voltage on acapacitor during operation according to FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a memory array that supports ferroelectricmemory in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a system that supports a ferroelectricmemory in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain details are set forth below to provide a sufficientunderstanding of examples of the disclosure. However, it will be clearto one having skill in the art that examples of the disclosure may bepracticed without these particular details. Moreover, the particularexamples of the present disclosure described herein should not beconstrued to limit the scope of the disclosure to these particularexamples. In other instances, well-known circuits, control signals,timing protocols, and software operations have not been shown in detailin order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the disclosure. Additionally,terms such as “couples” and “coupled” mean that two components may bedirectly or indirectly electrically coupled Indirectly coupled may implythat two components are coupled through one or more intermediatecomponents.

FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus that includes an example memory 100 thatsupports ferroelectric memory in accordance with various embodiments ofthe present disclosure. Memory 100 includes memory cells 105 that areprogrammable to store different states. Each memory cell 105 may beprogrammable to store two states, denoted as a logic 0 and a logic 1. Amemory cell 105 may include a capacitor that retains a charge polarityrepresentative of the programmable states. For example, a charged anduncharged capacitor may represent two logic states, respectively. Insome embodiments of the disclosure, memory cell 105 is configured tostore more than two logic states, that is, the memory cell 105 is amultilevel memory cell. For example, in some embodiments of thedisclosure, the memory cells may be programmable to store one of fourdifferent logic state representing two bits of data.

A ferroelectric memory cell may include a capacitor that has aferroelectric as the dielectric material. Different levels of charge ofa ferroelectric capacitor may represent different logic states.Ferroelectric memory cells 105 have beneficial properties that mayresult in improved performance relative to other memory architectures,for example, persistent storage of logic states without the need forperiodic refresh operations.

Operations such as reading and writing may be performed on memory cells105 by activating or selecting the appropriate access lines 110 andsense lines 115. Activating or selecting an access line 110 or a senseline 115 may include applying a voltage to the respective line. Accesslines 110 and sense lines 115 are made of conductive materials. Forexample, access lines 110 and sense lines 115 may be made of metals(such as copper, aluminum, gold, tungsten, etc.), metal alloys, dopedsemiconductors, other conductive materials, or the like. According tothe example of FIG. 1, each row of memory cells 105 is coupled to accesslines 110 WL, and each column of memory cells 105 is coupled to senselines 115 DLC and DLT. By activating the respective access lines 110 andsense lines 115 (e.g., applying a voltage to the access lines 110 and/orsense lines 115), a memory cell 105 at the intersection of the WL andDLC/DLT may be accessed. Accessing the memory cell 105 may includereading or writing the memory cell 105. The memory cell at theintersection of an access lines 110 and sense lines 115 may have acorresponding memory address.

In some architectures, the logic storing device of a cell, for example,a capacitor, may be electrically isolated from the sense lines byselection components. An access line 110 may be coupled to and maycontrol a respective selection component. For example, the selectioncomponent may be a transistor and the access line 110 may be coupled tothe gate of the transistor. Activating the access line 110 results in anelectrical coupling or closed circuit between the capacitor of a memorycell 105 and corresponding sense line 115. The sense lines may then beaccessed to either read or write the memory cell 105.

Accessing memory cells 105 may be controlled through a row decoder 120and a column decoder 130. In some examples, a row decoder 120 receives arow address from the memory controller 140 and activates the appropriateaccess lines 110 based on the received row address. Similarly, a columndecoder 130 receives a column address from the memory controller 140 andactivates the appropriate sense lines 115. For example, memory 100 mayinclude multiple access lines 110, and multiple sense lines 115. Thus byactivating access lines 110 WL and sense lines 115 DLC and DLT, thememory cell 105 may be accessed.

Upon accessing, a memory cell 105 may be read, or sensed, by sensecomponent 125 to determine the stored state of the memory cell 105. Forexample, after accessing the memory cell 105, the ferroelectriccapacitor of memory cell 105 may discharge onto corresponding senselines 115. Discharging the ferroelectric capacitor may be based onbiasing, or applying a voltage, to the ferroelectric capacitor. Thedischarging may cause a change in the voltages of the sense lines 115,which sense component 125 may compare to one another in order todetermine the stored state of the memory cell 105. For example, if afirst sense line coupled to a memory cell has a higher voltage than asecond sense line coupled to the memory cell, then sense component 125may determine that the stored state in memory cell 105 was a logic 1 andvice versa. Sense component 125 may include various transistors oramplifiers in order to detect and amplify a difference in the signals. Aseparate sense component 125 may be provided for each pair of senselines DLC and DLT. The detected logic state of memory cell 105 may thenbe output through column decoder 130 and input/output circuit 135.

A memory cell 105 may be programmed, or written, by activating therelevant access lines 110 and sense lines 115. As discussed above,activating access lines 110 electrically couples the corresponding rowof memory cells 105 to their respective sense lines 115. By controllingthe relevant sense lines 115 while the access lines 110 are activated, amemory cell 105 may be written—e.g., a logic value may be stored in thememory cell 105. Column decoder 130 may accept data, for example, fromthe input/output circuit 135, to be written to the memory cells 105. Aferroelectric memory cell 105 may be written by applying a voltageacross the ferroelectric capacitor.

The memory controller 140 may control the operation (e.g., read, write,etc.) of memory cells 105 through the various components, such as rowdecoder 120, column decoder 130, and sense component 125. Memorycontroller 140 may provide internal control signals to activate thedesired access lines 110 and sense lines 115 for accessing the memorycells 105. Memory controller 140 may also control various voltagepotentials used during the operation of memory 100. In general, theamplitude, shape, or duration of an applied voltage discussed herein maybe adjusted or varied and may be different for the various operationsfor operating memory 100.

FIG. 2A illustrates a column of memory cells and a sense circuit 200according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The column ofmemory cells includes memory cells MC coupled to sense lines DLC andDLT. The column of memory cells is shown in FIG. 2A includes memorycells 105 MC(0)-MC(n), where “n” depends on the array size. Each of thememory cells 105 is activated by a respective access line WL(0)-(n). Thememory cells MC, access lines WL, and sense lines DLC and DLT may beexamples of the memory cells 105, access lines 110, and sense lines 115.The sense circuit 200 may be included in the sense component 125 ofFIG. 1. While one column of memory cells 105 is shown in FIG. 2A, amemory array may include a plurality of columns of memory cells as thoseshown.

Each memory cell MC(0)-MC(n) includes switches, shown in FIG. 2A astransistors TC and TT, and capacitor FC configured as a twotransistor-one capacitor (2T-1C) memory cell. The switches of the memorycells MC(0)-MC(n) are shown as n-channel transistors in the embodimentof FIG. 2A. However, different transistors may be used for the switcheswithout departing from the scope of the disclosure. In some embodiments,the capacitor FC may be a ferroelectric capacitor having a ferroelectricmaterial disposed between capacitor plates. In other embodiments, thecapacitor FC is a dielectric capacitor having a dielectric materialdisposed between capacitor plates. Other types of capacitors may be usedas well without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thetransistor TC is coupled to one plate of the capacitor FC at node CBCand the transistor TT is coupled to another plate of the capacitor FC atnode CBT. The transistors TC and TT have gates coupled to a respectiveaccess line WL(0)-WL(n). The transistors TC and TT may be activated byapplying an activate voltage on the respective access line WL(0)-WL(n).The transistor TC is coupled to the sense line DLC and the transistor TTis coupled to the sense line DLT. The digit lines DLC and DLT each haverespective parasitic capacitances, represented by parasitic capacitancesCDLC and CDLT.

The sense circuit 200 is coupled to memory cells MC by the sense linesDLC and DLT. The sense circuit 200 includes a bias circuit 230 and abias circuit 240, and a sense amplifier 220. The bias circuits 230 and240 are each coupled to the sense lines DLC and DLT. As will bedescribed in more detail below, the bias circuits 230 and 240 may beused to bias the capacitor FC of an activated memory cell MC to create avoltage difference between the sense lines DLC and DLT. The senseamplifier 220 amplifies a voltage difference between the sense lines DLCand DLT, for example, by driving the sense lines to complementaryvoltages. The voltage difference created between the sense lines DLC andDLT may be based on a condition of the capacitor FC of an activatedmemory cell MC. The condition of the capacitor FC, for example, may berepresentative of a logic state stored by the activated memory cell MC.The logic state of memory cell MC may then be output through columndecoder 130 and input/output circuit 135, as previously described.

The bias circuit 230 includes a switch circuit 232 coupled to the senseline DLC and to a capacitor 234, and further includes a switch circuit233 coupled to the sense line DLT and to a capacitor 235. The switchcircuits 232 and 233 are activated by active control signals CH0 andCH0F (e.g., CH0 active high logic level and CH0F active low logiclevel). The CH0F signal is the complement of the CH0 signal, that is,having a logic level that is the complement of the logic level of theCH0 signal. When activated, the switch circuit 232 couples the capacitor234 to the sense line DLC and the switch circuit 233 couples thecapacitor 235 to the sense line DLT. The bias circuit 240 includes aswitch circuit 242 coupled to the sense line DLC and to a capacitor 244,and further includes a switch circuit 243 coupled to the sense line DLTand to a capacitor 245. The switch circuits 242 and 243 are activated byactive control signals CH1 and CH1F (e.g., CH1 active high logic leveland CH1F active low logic level). The CH1F signal is the complement ofthe CH1 signal, that is, having a logic level that is the complement ofthe logic level of the CH1 signal. When activated, the switch circuit242 couples the capacitor 244 to the sense line DLC and the switchcircuit 243 couples the capacitor 245 to the sense line DLT.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the switch circuits 232, 233,242, and 243 are transistor transfer gate circuits including a p-channeltransistor and an n-channel transistor coupled in parallel. Other switchcircuits and/or other types of transistors may be used for the switchcircuits in alternative embodiments of the disclosure.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the one or more of the capacitors234, 235, 244, and 245 may be metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitorsincluding plates of a metallic material and an insulator disposedbetween the metal capacitor plates. The MIM capacitors may exhibit morestable capacitor characteristics than other types of capacitors, varyingless in circuit per due to variations in process, voltage, andtemperature, for example. The MIM capacitors may be formed frommetallization and dielectric layers of a semiconductor device.Capacitors other than MIM capacitors may be used for the capacitors 234,235, 244, and 245 in alternative embodiments of the disclosure. Forexample, in some embodiments of the disclosure ametal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor may be used for one or more ofthe capacitors 234, 235, 244, and 245.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the capacitors 234 and 235 havethe same magnitude of capacitance as each other, and the capacitors 244and 245 have the same magnitude of capacitance as each other. In someembodiments of the disclosure, the capacitors 244 and 245 also havelower capacitances than the capacitors 234 and 235. By way ofnon-limiting examples, in some embodiments of the disclosure, thecapacitance of capacitors 234 and 235 may be 30 fF, and the capacitanceof the capacitors 244 and 245 may be 20 fF. The parasitic capacitancesCDLC and CDLT may have capacitances of 90 fF. The capacitor FC may havea capacitance of 30 fF. Capacitances other than those previouslydescribed by way of non-limiting examples may be used without departingfrom the scope of the disclosure.

The sense circuit 200 further includes a precharge circuit 210. Theprecharge circuit 210 provides various voltages to set an initialvoltage condition for the sense circuit 200 in preparation for sensing amemory cell MC. The precharge circuit 210 is shown in FIG. 2A asproviding precharge voltages PRE1, PRE2, and PRE3. However, greater orfewer precharge voltages may be provided by the precharge circuit 210without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

In some embodiments of the disclosure, the precharge circuit 210provides a high precharge voltage to one of the capacitors 234 and 235and to one of the capacitors 244 and 245, provides a low prechargevoltage to the other one of the capacitors 234 and 235 and to the otherone of the capacitors 244 and 245, and provides to the sense lines DLCand DLT a precharge voltage that is one-half of the difference betweenthe high and low precharge voltages. As a result, the voltage differencebetween the precharge voltage of the sense lines and the prechargevoltage is the same as the voltage difference between the prechargevoltage of the sense lines and the low precharge voltage. For example,in some embodiments of the disclosure, the precharge circuit 210provides a PRE1 voltage of 0.8 V to the sense lines DLC and DLT, a PRE2voltage of 1.6 V to the capacitor 234 and to the capacitor 245, and aPRE3 voltage of 0 V to the capacitors 235 and 244. Other embodiments ofthe disclosure may provide different precharge voltages to the senselines DLC and DLT, capacitors 234 and 245, and capacitors 235 and 244.The precharge circuit 210 may be controlled by internal control signalsprovided by a memory controller, for example, the memory controller 140of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2B illustrates a sense amplifier 250 according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure. The sense amplifier 250 may be used for the senseamplifier 220 of FIG. 2A. The sense amplifier 250 includes p-type fieldeffect transistors 252 and 256 and n-type field effect transistors 262and 266. Gates of the transistor 252 and transistor 262 are coupled tosense node A. Gates of the transistor 256 and transistor 266 are coupledto sense node B. The sense node A may be coupled to the sense line DLCand the sense node B may be coupled to the sense line DLT. A p-typefield effect transistor 258 is configured to be coupled to a high supplyvoltage (e.g., VDD power supply) and is coupled to a common node of thetransistors 252 and 256. The transistor 258 is activated by an activePSA signal (e.g., active low logic). An n-type field effect transistor268 is configured to be coupled to a reference voltage (e.g., ground)and is coupled to a common node of the transistors 262 and 266. Thetransistor 268 is activated by an active NSA signal (e.g., active highlogic).

In operation, the sense amplifier 250 is activated by activating the PSAand NSA signals to couple the sense amplifier 250 to the voltage of thepower supply and the reference voltage. When activated, the senseamplifier 250 compares the voltages of sense nodes A and B, andamplifies a voltage difference by driving the sense nodes A and B tocomplementary voltage levels (e.g., driving sense node A to VDD andsense node B to ground, or driving sense node A to ground and sense nodeB to VDD). When the sense nodes A and B have been driven to thecomplementary voltage levels, the states of sense nodes A and B arelatched by the sense amplifier 250 and remain latched until the senseamplifier 250 is deactivated. In some embodiments of the disclosure, thesense amplifier 250 may be electrically isolated from the sense linesDLC and DLT by isolation transistors (not shown) coupled between arespective sense line DLC and DLT and sense nodes A and B. The isolationtransistors may be activated in order for the sense amplifier 250 tosense and amplify a voltage difference between the sense lines DLC andDLT, and deactivated so that the sense amplifier 250 retains a sensedlogic state.

Ferroelectric materials have non-linear polarization properties. FIG. 3Aand FIG. 3B illustrate examples of non-linear electrical properties withhysteresis curves 300-a (FIG. 3A) and 300-b (FIG. 3B) for a memory cellfor ferroelectric memory in accordance with various embodiments of thepresent disclosure. Hysteresis curves 300-a and 300-b illustrate anexample ferroelectric memory cell writing and reading process,respectively. Hysteresis curves 300 depict the charge, Q, stored on aferroelectric capacitor (e.g., capacitor FC of the memory cells MC ofFIG. 2A) as a function of a voltage difference, V.

A ferroelectric material is characterized by a spontaneous electricpolarization, for example, it maintains a non-zero electric polarizationin the absence of an electric field. Example ferroelectric materialsinclude barium titanate (BaTiO3), lead titanate (PbTiO3), lead zirconiumtitanate (PZT), and strontium bismuth tantalate (SBT). The ferroelectriccapacitors described herein may include these or other ferroelectricmaterials. Electric polarization within a ferroelectric capacitorresults in a net charge at the ferroelectric material's surface andattracts opposite charge through the capacitor terminals. Thus, chargeis stored at the interface of the ferroelectric material and thecapacitor terminals. Because the electric polarization may be maintainedin the absence of an externally applied electric field for relativelylong times, even indefinitely, charge leakage may be significantlydecreased as compared with, for example, capacitors employed in volatilememory arrays. This may reduce the need to perform refresh operations asdescribed above for some volatile memory architectures.

Hysteresis curves 300 may be understood from the perspective of a singleterminal of a capacitor. By way of example, if the ferroelectricmaterial has a negative polarization, positive charge accumulates at theterminal. Likewise, if the ferroelectric material has a positivepolarization, negative charge accumulates at the terminal. Additionally,it should be understood that the voltages in hysteresis curves 300represent a voltage difference across the capacitor and are directional.For example, a positive voltage may be realized by applying a positivevoltage to the terminal in question (e.g., a cell top 230) andmaintaining the second terminal (e.g., a cell bottom 215) at ground (orapproximately zero volts (0V)). A negative voltage may be applied bymaintaining the terminal in question at ground and applying a positivevoltage to the second terminal, for example, positive voltages may beapplied to negatively polarize the terminal in question. Similarly, twopositive voltages, two negative voltages, or any combination of positiveand negative voltages may be applied to the appropriate capacitorterminals to generate the voltage difference shown in hysteresis curves300.

As depicted in hysteresis curve 300-a, the ferroelectric material maymaintain a positive or negative polarization with a zero voltagedifference, resulting in two possible charged states: charge state 305and charge state 310. According to the example of FIG. 3, charge state305 represents a logic 0 and charge state 310 represents a logic 1. Insome examples, the logic values of the respective charge states may bereversed without loss of understanding.

A logic 0 or 1 may be written to the memory cell by controlling theelectric polarization of the ferroelectric material, and thus the chargeon the capacitor terminals, by applying voltage. For example, applying anet positive voltage 315 across the capacitor results in chargeaccumulation until charge state 305-a is reached. Upon removing voltage315, charge state 305-a follows path 320 until it reaches charge state305 at zero voltage potential. Similarly, charge state 310 is written byapplying a net negative voltage 325, which results in charge state310-a. After removing negative voltage 325, charge state 310-a followspath 330 until it reaches charge state 310 at zero voltage. Chargestates 305 and 310 may also be referred to as the remnant polarization(Pr) values, which is the polarization (or charge) that remains uponremoving the external bias (e.g., voltage).

To read, or sense, the stored state of the ferroelectric capacitor, avoltage may be applied across the capacitor. In response, the storedcharge, Q, changes, and the degree of the change depends on the initialcharge state, and as a result, the final stored charge (Q) depends onwhether charge state 305-b or 310-b was initially stored. For example,hysteresis curve 300-b illustrates two possible stored charge states305-b and 310-b. Voltage 335 may be applied across the capacitor aspreviously discussed. Although depicted as a positive voltage, voltage335 may be negative. In response to voltage 335, charge state 305-b mayfollow path 340. Likewise, if charge state 310-b was initially stored,then it follows path 345. The final position of charge state 305-c andcharge state 310-c depend on a number of factors, including the specificsensing scheme and circuitry.

In some cases, the final charge may depend on the intrinsic capacitanceof the sense line (e.g., DLC and DLT) coupled to the memory cell. Forexample, if the capacitor is electrically coupled to the sense line andvoltage 335 is applied, the voltage of the sense line may rise due toits intrinsic capacitance. So a voltage measured at a sense componentmay not equal voltage 335 and instead may depend on the voltage of thesense line. The position of final charge states 305-c and 310-c onhysteresis curve 300-b may thus depend on the capacitance of the senseline and may be determined through a load-line analysis. Charge states305-c and 310-c may be defined with respect to the sense linecapacitance. As a result, the voltage of the capacitor, voltage 350 orvoltage 355, may be different and may depend on the initial state of thecapacitor.

By comparing the voltages of the sense lines DLC and DLT, the initialstate of the capacitor may be determined. A voltage difference may begenerated on the sense lines DLC and DLT such that a comparison of therespective voltages to one another is used to determine the stored logicstate, for example, if the voltage of one of the sense lines is greateror less than the voltage of the other sense line. For example, onestored logic state results in the sense line DLC having a higher voltagethan the sense line DLT, and another stored logic state results in thesense line DLC having a lower voltage than the sense line DLT. Uponcomparison by the sense amplifier, the sensed sense line voltage may bedetermined to be higher or lower than the other sense line, and thestored logic value of the ferroelectric memory cell (e.g., a logic 0or 1) may be determined.

Operation of the sense circuit 200 will be described with reference toFIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a wave diagram showing various signals duringoperation of the sense circuit 200 for reading a memory cell MC storinga first logic state (e.g., “0” data). FIG. 5 is a wave diagram showingvarious signals during operation of the sense circuit 200 for reading amemory cell MC when storing a second logic state (e.g., “1” data). Theparticular voltages described below are provided by way of example, andare not intended to limit embodiments of the disclosure to theparticular examples. Other voltages may be used in different embodimentsof the disclosure.

With reference to FIGS. 2A and 4, prior to time T0 the precharge circuit210 is activated by a high logic level EQ signal to set the initialvoltage conditions for the sense circuit 200 and the sense lines DLC andDLT in preparation for sensing a logic state of a memory cell MC. Forexample, in some embodiments of the disclosure, the voltage of the senselines DLC and DLT are set by the precharge circuit 210 to 0.8 V. Theprecharge circuit 210 may further set the voltage of the capacitors 234and 245 to 1.6 V and set the voltage of the capacitors 235 and 244 to 0V. At time T0, the precharge circuit 210 is deactivated as the EQ signalchanges to a low logic level. Also at time T0 the transistors TC and TTof a memory cell MC are activated by increasing the voltage of theaccess line WL to greater than the threshold voltages of the transistorsTC and TT. In some embodiments of the disclosure, the access line WL isincreased to greater than 3.0 V. With the transistors TC and TTactivated, the capacitor FC of the activated memory cell MC is coupledto the sense lines DLC and DLT.

At time T1, the switch circuits 232 and 233 are activated by a highlogic level CH0 signal as shown in FIG. 4 (and a low logic level CH0Fsignal not shown in FIG. 4). With the switch circuits 232 and 233activated, the 1.6 V precharge voltage of the capacitor 234 is coupledto the 0.8 V of the sense line DLC, and the 0 V precharge voltage of thecapacitor 235 is coupled to the 0.8 V of the sense line DLT. As aresult, the voltages of the sense lines DLC and DLT change. In theexample illustrated by FIG. 4, the voltage of the sense line DLCincreases and the voltage of the sense line DLT decreases. The senseline DLC increases due to the sharing of the higher voltage of thecapacitor 234 (e.g., 1.6 V) and the voltage of the sense line DLC (e.g.,0.8 V). The sense line DLT decreases due to the sharing of the voltageof the sense line DLT (e.g., 0.8 V) and the lower voltage of thecapacitor 235 (e.g., 0 V).

The amount of voltage increase of the sense line DLC and the amount ofvoltage decrease of the sense line DLT is dependent on the condition(e.g., polarization) of the capacitor FC of the memory cell MC. Forexample, the voltage change (e.g., voltage increase or voltage decrease)of the sense lines DLC and DLT may be greater when the capacitor FC isin a first condition compared to when the capacitor FC is in a secondcondition. The present example shown by FIG. 4, as previously mentioned,is for reading the memory cell MC when storing a first logic state(e.g., “0” data), which corresponds in the present example to the firstcondition for the capacitor FC. The example shown by FIG. 5, which willbe described in more detail below, is for reading the memory cell MCwhen storing a second data state (e.g., “1” data), which corresponds inthe present example to the second condition for the capacitor FC.

Again with reference to FIG. 4, at time T2 the switch circuits 232 and233 are deactivated, and at time T3, the switch circuits 242 and 243 areactivated by a high logic level CH1 signal as shown in FIG. 4 and a lowlogic level CH1F signal (not shown in FIG. 4). With the switch circuits242 and 243 activated, the 0 V precharge voltage of the capacitor 244 iscoupled to the sense line DLC and the 1.6 V precharge voltage of thecapacitor 245 is coupled to the sense line DLT. As a result, thevoltages of the sense lines DLC and DLT change. In the exampleillustrated by FIG. 4, the voltage of the sense line DLC decreases andthe voltage of the sense line DLT increases. The sense line DLCdecreases due to the sharing of the voltage of the sense line DLC withthe lower voltage of the capacitor 244. The sense line DLT increases dueto the sharing of the higher voltage of the capacitor 245 (e.g., 1.6 V)with the voltage of the sense line DLT (e.g., 0.8 V). At time T4 theswitch circuits 242 and 243 are deactivated. For the first condition ofthe capacitor FC as shown in FIG. 4, the voltage decrease in the senseline DLC following time T3 is less than the voltage increase in thesense line DLC following time T1, and the voltage increase in the senseline DLT following time T3 is less than the voltage decrease in thesense line DLT following time T1. As previously described, in someembodiments of the disclosure the capacitors 244 and 245 have lowercapacitances than the capacitors 234 and 235. The different capacitancesof the capacitors may contribute to the change in voltage of the senselines DLC and DLT from sharing of the voltages of capacitors 244 and 245at time T3 being less than the change in voltage of the sense lines DLCand DLT from sharing of the voltages of capacitors 234 and 235 at timeT1.

At time T5, the sense amplifier 220 is activated by the SEN signalchanging to a high logic level. In embodiments including the senseamplifier 250 of FIG. 2B, the SEN signal may represent the NSA signalchanging to a high logic level and the PSA signal changing to a lowlogic level. The sense amplifier 220 amplifies the voltage differencebetween the sense lines DLC and DLT. In the example of FIG. 4 (i.e.,reading the memory cell MC when storing a first logic state (e.g., “0”data)), the voltage of the sense line DLC is greater than the voltage ofthe sense line DLT following the voltage increase in the sense line DLCat time T1 and the voltage decrease in the sense line DLC at time T3(and the voltage decrease in the sense line DLT at time T1 and thevoltage increase in the sense line DLT at time T3). The activated senseamplifier 220 amplifies the voltage difference between the sense linesDLC and DLT by driving the sense line DLC to a high supply voltage(e.g., 1.6 V) and driving the sense line DLT to a low supply voltage(e.g., 0 V) to amplify the voltage difference.

As previously described, FIG. 5 is a wave diagram showing varioussignals during operation of the sense circuit 200 for reading a memorycell MC storing a second logic state (e.g., “1” data).

With reference to FIGS. 2A and 5, prior to time T0 the precharge circuit210 is activated by a high logic level EQ signal to set the initialvoltage conditions for the sense circuit 200 and the sense lines DLC andDLT in preparation for sensing the logic state of a memory cell MC. Aspreviously described, in the present example, the voltage of the senselines DLC and DLT an set by the precharge circuit 210 to 0.8 V. Thevoltage of the capacitors 234 and 245 are set to 1.6 V, and the voltageof the capacitors 235 and 244 are set to 0 V. At time T0, the prechargecircuit 210 is deactivated as the EQ signal changes to a low logiclevel. Also at time T0, transistors TC and TT of a memory cell MC areactivated by increasing the voltage of the access line WL to greaterthan the threshold voltages of the transistors TC and TT to couple thecapacitor FC of the activated memory cell MC to the sense lines DLC andDLT.

At time T1, the switch circuits 232 and 233 are activated by a highlogic level CH0 signal as shown in FIG. 5 (and a low logic level CH0Fsignal not shown in FIG. 5). With the switch circuits 232 and 233activated, the 1.6 V precharge voltage of the capacitor 234 is coupledto the 0.8 V of the sense line DLC, and the 0 V precharge voltage of thecapacitor 235 is coupled to the 0.8 V of the sense line DLT. As aresult, the voltages of the sense lines DLC and DLT change in theexample illustrated by FIG. 5, the voltage of the sense line DLCincreases and the voltage of the sense line DLT decreases. The senseline DLC increases due to the sharing of the higher voltage of thecapacitor 234 (e.g., 1.6 V) and the voltage of the sense line DLC (e.g.,0.8 V). The sense line DLT decreases due to the sharing of the voltageof the sense line DLT (e.g., 0.8 V) and the lower voltage of thecapacitor 235 (e.g., 0 V).

As previously described, the amount of voltage increase of the senseline DLC and the amount of voltage decrease of the sense line DLT isdependent on the condition (e.g., polarization) of the capacitor FC ofthe memory cell MC. For example, the voltage change (e.g., voltageincrease or voltage decrease) of the sense lines DLC and DLT may be lesswhen the capacitor FC is in a second condition compared to when thecapacitor FC is in a first condition (e.g., FIG. 4). With reference tothe example of FIG. 5, the voltage increase of the sense lines DLC (andthe voltage decrease of the sense line DLT) is less than theincrease/decrease in voltage in comparison to the example of FIG. 4. Thepresent example shown by FIG. 5, as previously mentioned, is for readingthe memory cell MC when storing a second logic state (e.g., “1” data),which corresponds in the present example to the second condition for thecapacitor FC.

Returning to FIG. 5, at time T2 the switch circuits 232 and 233 aredeactivated, and at time T3, the switch circuits 242 and 243 areactivated by a high logic level an signal as shown in FIG. 5 (and a lowlogic level CH1F signal not shown in FIG. 5). With the switch circuits242 and 243 activated, the 0 V precharge voltage of the capacitor 244 iscoupled to the sense line DLC and the 1.6 V precharge voltage of thecapacitor 245 is coupled to the sense line DLT. As a result, thevoltages of the sense lines DLC and DLT change. In the exampleillustrated by FIG. 5, the voltage of the sense line DLC decreases andthe voltage of the sense line DLT increases. The sense line DLCdecreases due to the sharing of the voltage of the sense line DLC andthe lower voltage of the capacitor 244 (e.g., 0 V). The sense line DLTincreases due to the sharing of the higher voltage of the capacitor 245(e.g., 1.6 V) and the voltage of the sense line DLT. At time T4 theswitch circuits 242 and 243 are deactivated.

At time T5, the sense amplifier 220 is activated by the SEN signalchanging to a high logic level. The sense amplifier 220 amplifies thevoltage difference between the sense lines DLC and DLT. In contrast tothe example of FIG. 4, the decrease in voltage of the sense line DLCfollowing time T3, for the example of FIG. 5, is greater than theincrease in voltage of the sense line DLC following time T1.Additionally, the increase in the voltage of the sense line DLTfollowing time T3 is greater than the decrease in voltage of the senseline DLT following time T1. As a result, the voltage of the sense lineDLC is less than the voltage of the sense line DLT. The activated senseamplifier 220 amplifies the voltage difference between the sense linesDLC and DLT by driving the sense line DLC to the low supply voltage anddriving the sense line DLT to the high supply voltage in amplify thevoltage difference.

With reference to FIG. 4, the voltage increase in the sense line DLCfollowing time T1 is greater in comparison to the voltage increase inthe sense line DLC for FIG. 5 due to the capacitor FC having a positivecharge condition between the nodes CBC and CBT (e.g., the node CBC ispositive relative to the node CBT). The voltage provided by thecapacitor 234 adds to the already positive charge condition of thecapacitor FC. In contrast, the capacitor FC in the example of FIG. 5 hasa negative charge condition between the nodes CBC and CBT (e.g., thenode CBC is negative relative to the node CBT). The voltage provided bythe capacitor 234 at time T1 first reverses the negative chargecondition of the capacitor FC before the voltage of the sense line DBCincreases, which results in a lesser voltage increase compared to theexample of FIG. 4.

As illustrated by the examples of FIGS. 4 and 5, the condition of acapacitor FC of a memory cell MC may be determined as previouslydescribed, and consequently, with each of the two conditionscorresponding to a different logic state (e.g., a first condition shownby FIG. 4 corresponds to “0” data; a second condition shown in FIG. 5corresponds to “1” data), data stored by the memory cell MC may be read.

FIG. 6 is a diagram that illustrates changes in polarization and voltageon the capacitor FC during operation of the examples of FIGS. 4 and 5according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 6 includes an examplehysteresis curve for the capacitor FC. An abscissa represents voltage Vapplied the capacitor FC and an ordinate represents polarization P,which corresponds to the charge stored on the capacitor plates of thecapacitor FC. The previously described first condition of the capacitorFC is represented by the curve crossing the ordinate for a positivepolarity and generally labeled as “0” read. The previously describedsecond condition of the capacitor FC is represented by the curvecrossing the ordinate for a negative polarity and generally labeled as“1” read. FIG. 4 corresponds to the “0” read and FIG. 5 corresponds tothe “1” read.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the capacitor FC is in the first condition(i.e., “0” read), the voltage provided by the capacitor 234 to the senseline DLC following time T1 causes the charge stored on the plate toincrease (represented in FIG. 6 as moving from (1)′ to (2)′). Thevoltage provided by the capacitor 244 to the sense line DLC followingtime T3 causes the charge stored on the plate to decrease (representedin FIG. 6 as moving from (2)′ to (3)′). As shown in FIG. 6, and aspreviously described with reference to FIG. 4, the voltage decrease inthe sense line DLC caused by the voltage of capacitor 244 following timeT3 is less than the voltage increase in the sense line DLC caused by thevoltage of capacitor 234 following time T1 (represented in FIG. 6 as adifference between (1)′ and (3)′).

As shown in FIG. 6, when the capacitor FC is in the second condition(i.e., “1” read), the voltage provided by the capacitor 234 to the senseline DLC following time T1 causes the charge stored on the plate toincrease (represented in FIG. 6 as moving from (1) to (2)). The voltageprovided by the capacitor 244 to the sense line DLC following time T3causes the charge stored on the plate to decrease (represented in FIG. 6as moving from (2) to (3)). As shown in FIG. 6, and as previouslydescribed with reference to FIG. 5, the voltage decrease in the senseline DLC caused by the voltage of capacitor 244 following time T3 isgreater than the voltage increase in the sense line DLC caused by thevoltage of capacitor 234 following time T1 (represented in FIG. 6 as adifference between (1) and (3)).

The difference in the voltage resulting from increasing and thendecreasing the voltage across the capacitor FC between the first andsecond conditions is illustrated by FIG. 6. As illustrated, the changein voltage for the second condition results in a greater voltagedifference than for the first condition. The charge increase anddischarge due to the increase and decrease in voltage across thecapacitor FC is the same for the tint and second conditions, which isrepresented by the vertical change from (1) to (2) and from (1)′ to(2)′. However, due to the properties of the capacitor FC ferroelectricproperties), the charge increase for the second condition (i.e., movingfrom (1) to (2)) results in less voltage across the capacitor FCcompared to the first condition, as illustrated in FIG. 6 as the voltagenot shifting as far right for the second condition. Consequently, forthe second condition, the discharge of the capacitor FC (i.e., movingfrom (2) to (3)) results in a voltage decrease that is greater than thevoltage increase (i.e., moving from (1) to (2)). As previously describedwith reference to FIG. 5, the greater voltage decrease than voltageincrease causes the sense line DLC to be less than the sense line DLTfor the second condition compared to the first condition.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a portion of memory device 700that includes memory 100 that supports a ferroelectric memory inaccordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. Memory100 may be referred to as an electronic memory apparatus and includesmemory controller 140 and memory cell 105, which may be examples ofmemory controller 140 and memory cell 105 as previously described withreference to any of FIGS. 1-6.

Memory controller 140 may include biasing component 705 and timingcomponent 710, and may operate as described with reference to FIG. 1.Memory controller 140 may be in electronic communication with accesslines 110, sense lines 115, and sense component 125, which may beexamples of access line 110, sense line 115, and sense component 125described with reference to any of FIGS. 1-6. Memory controller 140 mayprovide control signals CH0, CH0F, Ch1, CH1F to the sense component 125.The memory controller 140 may further provide an EQ signal and a SENsignal to the sense component 125. The components of memory 100 may bein electronic communication with each other and may perform thefunctions described with reference to any of FIGS. 1-6.

Memory controller 140 may be configured to activate access lines 110 orsense lines 115 by applying voltages to the access and sense lines. Forexample, biasing component 705 may be configured to apply a voltage tooperate memory cell 105 to read or write memory cell 105 as describedabove. In some cases, memory controller 140 may include a row decoder,column decoder, or both, as described with reference to FIG. 1. This mayenable memory controller 140 to access one or more memory cells 105.Additionally, biasing component 705 may provide voltage potentials forthe operation of sense component 125, for example, providing voltagepotentials used for precharging the sense component 125 and sense linesDLC and DLT.

Memory controller 140 may couple memory cell 105 to sense component 125.Memory controller 140 may further determine a logic state of theferroelectric memory cell 105 based on activating sense component 125.In some cases, memory controller 140 may perform its operations usingtiming component 710. For example, timing component 710 may control thetiming of the various access line selections or cell top biasing,including timing for switching and voltage application to perform thememory functions, such as reading and writing, discussed herein. In somecases, timing component 710 may control the operations of biasingcomponent 705.

Sense component 125 may compare voltages of the sense lines DLC and DLTcoupled to an activated memory cell 105 to determine a logic statestored by the memory cell. The sense component 125 may latch the output,where it may be used in accordance with the operations of an electronicdevice that includes the memory device 700.

FIG. 8 illustrates a system 800 that supports a ferroelectric memory inaccordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure. System800 includes a device 805, which may be or include a printed circuitboard to connect or physically support various components. Device 805may be a computer, notebook computer, laptop, tablet computer, mobilephone, or the like. Device 805 includes a memory 100, which may be anexample of memory 100 previously described. Memory 100 may containmemory controller 140 and memory cell(s) 105, which may be examples ofmemory controller 140 and memory cells 105 previously described. Device805 may also include a processor 810, BIOS component 815, peripheralcomponent(s) 820, and input/output control component 825. The componentsof device 805 may be in electronic communication with one anotherthrough bus 830.

Processor 810 may be configured to operate memory 100 through memorycontroller 140. In some cases, processor 810 may perform the functionsof memory controller 140 as previously described. In other cases, memorycontroller 140 may be integrated into processor 810. Processor 810 maybe a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmablegate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or it may be acombination of these types of components. The processor 810 may performvarious functions and operate the memory 100 as described herein.Processor 810 may, for example, be configured to executecomputer-readable instructions stored in memory 100 to cause device 805perform various functions or tasks.

BIOS component 815 may be a software component that includes a basicinput/output system (BIOS) operated as firmware, which may initializeand run various hardware components of system 800. BIOS component 815may also manage data flow between processor 88 and the variouscomponents, e.g., peripheral components 820, input/output controlcomponent 825, etc. BIOS component 815 may include a program or softwarestored in read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, or any othernon-volatile memory.

Peripheral component(s) 820 may be any input or output device, or aninterface for such devices, that is integrated into device 805. Examplesmay include disk controllers, sound controller, graphics controller,Ethernet controller, modem, universal serial bus (USB) controller, aserial or parallel port, or peripheral card slots, such as peripheralcomponent interconnect (PCI) or accelerated graphics port (AGP) slots.Input/output control component 825 may manage data communication betweenprocessor 810 and peripheral component(s) 820, input devices 835, oroutput devices 840. Input/output control component 825 may also manageperipherals not integrated into device 805. In some cases, input/outputcontrol component 825 may represent a physical connection or port to theexternal peripheral. Input 835 may represent a device or signal externalto device 805 that provides input to device 805 or its components. Thismay include a user interface or interface with or between other devices.In some cases, input 835 may be a peripheral that interfaces with device805 via peripheral component(s) 820 or may be managed by input/outputcontrol component 825.

Output 840 may represent a device or signal external to device 805configured to receive output from device 805 or of its components.Examples of output 840 may include a display, audio speakers, a printingdevice, another processor or printed circuit board, etc. In some cases,output 840 may be a peripheral that interfaces with device 805 viaperipheral component(s) 820 or may be managed by input/output controlcomponent 825.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specificembodiments of the disclosure have been described herein for purposes ofillustration, various modifications may be made without deviating fromthe spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the scopedisclosure should not be limited any of the specific embodimentsdescribed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a memory cell includinga memory capacitor; first and second sense lines coupled to the memorycell; a first capacitor configured to be coupled, via a first switchcircuit, to the first sense line and further configured to receive afirst precharge voltage; a second capacitor configured to be coupled,via a second switch circuit, to the second sense line and furtherconfigured to receive a second precharge voltage, which is differentfrom the first precharge voltage; and a sense amplifier coupled to thefirst and second sense lines, the sense amplifier configured to sense avoltage difference between the first and second sense lines, wherein thevoltage difference between the first and second sense lines sensed bythe sense amplifier is amplified by a first voltage output by the firstswitch circuit and a second voltage output by the second switch circuit.2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a first bias circuitincluding the first and second capacitors and the first and secondswitch circuits.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the firstcapacitor has substantially a same capacitance as the second capacitor.4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first switch circuit and thesecond switch circuit are configured to be activated to couple the firstcapacitor to the first sense line and to couple the second capacitor tothe second sense line, respectively.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1,further comprising: third and fourth capacitors configured to be coupledvia third and fourth switch circuits, respectively, to the first andsecond sense lines, respectively.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, whereinthe third and fourth capacitors each have lower capacitance than each ofthe first and second capacitors.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5, furthercomprising: a first bias circuit including the first and secondcapacitors and the first and second switch circuits; and a second biascircuit including the third and fourth capacitors and the third andfourth switch circuits.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein each of thefirst and second bias circuits is configured to bias the memorycapacitor of the memory cell to provide the voltage difference betweenthe first and second sense lines.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, whereinthe voltage difference between the first and second sense lines is basedon a condition of the memory capacitor.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9,wherein the condition of the memory capacitor is representative of alogic state stored by the memory cell.
 11. A method, comprising:providing a first voltage on a first sense line coupled to aferroelectric capacitor of a memory cell; providing a second voltage ona second sense line coupled to the ferroelectric capacitor of the memorycell; and amplifying a voltage difference between the first sense lineand the second sense line responsive at least in part to, respectively,the provided first voltage and the provided second voltage, wherein thevoltage difference is based at least in part on a polarity of theferroelectric capacitor.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein theferroelectric capacitor has a first or second polarity, and whereinproviding the first voltage on the first sense line for the firstpolarity of the ferroelectric capacitor results in a greater increase inthe voltage of the first sense line than providing the first voltage onthe first sense line for the second polarity of the ferroelectriccapacitor.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein providing the firstvoltage on the first sense line includes coupling a first capacitor tothe first sense line to increase a voltage of the first sense line. 14.The method of claim 11, wherein providing the first voltage on the firstsense line includes coupling a first capacitor to the first sense line,and wherein the first capacitor is precharged to the first voltage, andthe first voltage is greater than a voltage of the first sense line. 15.The method of claim 11, wherein the second voltage is provided to thesecond sense line by coupling a second capacitor to the second senseline to decrease a voltage of the second sense line.
 16. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the second voltage is provided to the second senseline by coupling a second capacitor to the second sense line, andwherein the second capacitor is precharged to the second voltage, andthe second voltage is less than a voltage of the second sense line. 17.An apparatus, comprising: first and second sense lines coupled to amemory cell; a first switch circuit configured to be activated at afirst time to couple a first capacitor with a first precharge voltage tothe first sense line and to increase a voltage on the first sense line;a second switch circuit configured to be activated at a second timelater than the first time to couple a second capacitor with a secondprecharge voltage to the first sense line and to decrease a voltage onthe first sense line; and a sense amplifier coupled to the first andsecond sense lines, the sense amplifier configured to sense a voltagedifference between the first and second sense lines that is based atleast in part on the first and second capacitors coupled to the firstsense line at the first time and the second time, respectively.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 17, further comprising: third and fourth capacitorsconfigured to be coupled via third and fourth switch circuits,respectively, to the second sense line, at the first time and the secondtime respectively.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the second andfourth capacitors each have lower capacitance than the first and thirdcapacitors.
 20. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising: a firstbias circuit including the first and third capacitors and the first andthird switch circuits; and a second bias circuit including the secondand fourth capacitors and the second and fourth switch circuits, whereinthe first capacitor of the first bias circuit is configured to store afirst voltage to be provided to the first sense line to increase thevoltage thereon and the third capacitor of the first bias circuit isconfigured to store a second voltage to be provided to the second senseline to decrease the voltage thereon, and wherein the second capacitoris configured to store a third voltage to be provided to the first senseline to decrease the voltage thereon and the fourth capacitor isconfigured to store a fourth voltage to be provided to the second senseline to increase the voltage thereon.